REVIEW; Batwoman, Season 2 Episode Sixteen 'Rebirth'

 REVIEW; Batwoman, Season 2 Episode Sixteen 'Rebirth'

A key focus of Batwoman's second season has been the return of Kate Kane (Wallis Day). The former Batwoman was presumed dead early in the season, only for now to still be alive with a new face. It's something of an odd move for a show that otherwise decided to write a new character taking over the mantle of Batwoman, but I guess sometimes these shows can take strange turns.

This is the episode where Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott) discovers his daughter is still alive via a DNA match between Circe's DNA and Kate's. It's a long overdue moment, as the ongoing scenes constantly teasing Circe is Kate despite us as the viewers all knowing that she is Kate anyway have got a bit repetitive. It doesn't feel like this season as a whole has done a lot with Kane now she's been brought back into the fold so I'm glad they finally do something with it here, with Jacob and the rest of her family and friends welcoming her back with open arms.

They take some interesting turns with it too. I especially like that Alice (Rachel Skarsen) is the key to keeping Kate back. The way they symbolise this carries some real dramatic weight, as we see inside Kate's brain, and learn how she feels trapped inside her own mind. The obvious parallel's between Kate's metaphorical entrapment and Beth's kidnapping are very prominent, and creates a strong thematic link between the two sisters. It's a good way of showing that they are not so different, despite Alice's murderous ways.

Another thing that works well is the mind battle between Cerce and Kate. This reminded me a little of something from Doctor Who, as they fight over control of Kate's brain inside her mind. Cerce is almost like a virus trying to force control over Kate's body, with Kate as the immune system trying to flood it out. This internal fight between the pair is really engaging, and leads to some thrilling moments, including one scene where Cerce takes over and attacks Mary (Nicole Kang).

Cleverly the stories regarding Black Mask (Peter Outerbridge) and Safiyah (Shivaani Ghai) merge, as it turns out they were working together all along. I didn't expect the island storyline from earlier in the season to connect with the current Black Mask storyline, so it was nice to see these two elements combine. It explains a great deal about how Kate ended up in Black Mask's hands too, with Safiyah having given the information regarding Kate's plane, so it could be crashed. It's nice that the earlier island storyline isn't going to be ultimately pointless after all, and that it does have something to do with the main story.

Jacob's clearly seen as a threat to their operation, as Black Mask has him arrested for helping Alice. His news speech about finally understanding Alice, how he failed her and she's just a lost little girl has to be one of the show's most powerful scenes thus far. The speech is very well written and acted, and it gives us a lovely character moment for Alice, as she touches the TV screen upon recognising that her Dad does care for her after all. Suddenly Alice once again feels wanted, and not neglected.

Elsewhere in this episode, we get a neat little crossover with the series that started the whole Arrowverse, Arrow. John Diggle (David Ramsey) pops up at Luke's (Camrus Johnson) poker game to give advice. It's nice to see Diggle pop up here, but he feels a little shoe-horned in. It's almost like Luke going off on his own and visiting the club was written into the episode purely to give an excuse for Diggle to cameo, when it would have probably felt more natural had he actually been assisting with the main plot of the episode. I'm not sure why Diggle couldn't have had some form of necessary information on Black Mask, or intel on Circe. Anything that would have allowed him to interact with Batwoman herself.

Overall, Rebirth is a superb instalment in Batwoman's second season. Whilst Diggle's cameo feels somewhat forced, the episode does a great job at tying Kate's current journey symbolically with Alice's own personal hardships, whilst also giving one hell of a speech to Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane. Rebirth is an episode that shows promise for things starting to move on the Kate Kane front; it's just a shame that Diggle still isn't the Green Lantern.

What are your thoughts on the sixteenth episode of Batwoman's second season? Let me know in the comments below.